Living with Ulcerative Colitis

Living with a chronic condition like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be a challenge, but with the right ulcerative colitis treatment and the support of your family and friends, it is still possible to do all the things you want.

Dealing With Flare Ups

One of the biggest issues of living with ulcerative colitis is that your condition can change a lot. During a flare up, your symptoms can force you to stay and home and focus on your ulcerative colitis treatment. When you are feeling well, there can be no sign of your IBD, so you can almost forget about it. The difficulty is that you don’t know when your condition is going to change, so you need to be able to adjust your plans quickly. Explaining the situation to the people around you can help, so that your friends will understand if you have to cancel your plans at the last minute. It is particularly important to discuss it with your employer, so that they can make adjustments to support you when needed.

Making Long Term Changes

Another challenge of living with ulcerative colitis is that it is a chronic condition. We don’t yet have a cure for IBD, so it is a lifelong condition. It can take some time to accept this after you are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, but you will soon become an expert in your condition and in your ulcerative colitis treatment. Many of the things that seem confusing at first will soon become second nature, and you will develop a good relationship with your gastroenterologist and IBD care team.

You will also need to become much more careful about the way you eat. It is important to ensure that you are eating a balanced diet and drinking plenty of water, especially during flare ups. Your diet can actually become a lot healthier after you’re diagnosed with IBD, which could actually help to keep the rest of your body healthier too.